Full Analysis of NME Music Magazine

Full Analysis of NME magazine

On the NME Media pack we are given a full analysis into the stats and distribution of NME magazines. Readers are able to investigate what goes on behind the scenes into the making of a well-recognised music magazine.

First of all we are given the masthead which spans across the majority of the top left hand side of the page. This enables readers to identify that the media pack is NME because of the world famous logo that they use. On every magazine issue this is a bold red written in bold capital letters. Down the side of this media pack we have three example issues of what NME magazines look like. NME has gone with the alternative rock genre of music. For example they have used main front cover images from the likes of Oasis, Lana Del Rey and Blur. It is clear therefore, that the target audience of NME enjoy listening to alternative music. Therefore, by having these three front covers available to look at means that the target audience feel that they are involved and included in the making of the NME music front covers, because their taste in music has been taken on board in the development of each issue of magazine.

Readers are also able to investigate the reader profile of every copy of an NME magazine. Readers are given quotes such as “The world’s most famous music magazine”, “I can trust it” and “Honest no-holds barred reviews”. These are quotes designed so that not only do NME gain the target audience that they already have but a target audience who may have never read NME before, because it is drawing in a different crowd of people through the way in which these quotes are written as if it is to a new audience. These kinds of quotes can inspire different people to read an issue of the magazine. The key stats of the readers are also outlined to us. The fact that 63% of males read it and 37% of females read it means that it is a male dominated music magazine. Therefore the editors are going to feature musical genres and bands that men listen to because they recognised that this is the majority of their target audience. The median age of the magazine is also outlined as 25. So this explains why a lot of NME issues of magazines feature bands that are trendy to listen to and appeal to a younger age generation. This is because editors will want to feature bands that appeal to men in their 20s, whom enjoy listening to alternative rock music because this is how editors are going to make their sales. So readers get an idea of what kind of age people are who read NME. Another interesting fact that is highlighted in the key stats is the fact that only 26% of students read the magazine. This is because NME is a fairly expensive magazine to purchase £2.40 on the front cover of the Lana Del Rey issue of the magazine. So again this gives us a lot of detail as to whom NME’s target audience is. Young, middle class men who can afford to buy the magazine. Readership is at 247,000 which gives us an idea that NME tend to have a specific target audience who like a specific music genre. This is through the fact that this readership isn’t very high if this is worldwide readership.

NME readers themselves listen to a lot of music a third download music. 75% read about music online and 58% say that adverts and bands/new music releases influence how they discover new music. These figures overall benefit editors on what kind of advertisement they need to put in their issues of NME magazines. In this case it would be to do with new bands touring, going to festivals/concerts etc.

People who visit NME website account for only 38.10% in the UK meaning that people who visit the official site are spread across worldwide. Readers can also investigate new music and new music magazine editions through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Mobile UU and Page Imps. This enables the target audience to discover new music. To follow bands that they are interesting in, to like pages and to share music with friends as well. So we get a sense that NME don’t just operate within their music magazines but also a lot more technologically as well through social media and the internet.

And lastly NME readers can also get an insight into what goes on in the making of each issue of an NME magazine and this is through the rate card section of the NME media pack. For example how much it costs to develop the Outside Back Cover, Inside Front Cover and Inside Back Cover. However, the most important aspect to take into account on this page is how much advertisement costs, because this in its self is going to attract the target audience into listening to different genres or different bands within the music industry. A double page spread costs £12,456 a whole page costs £6,920 a half page (horizontal and vertical) costs £5,350 and a quarter page costs £2,755. This enables advertising firms to identify how big their advert is going to be that the put in NME. The pricing helps them decide what they can afford to put in. This also affects the target audience because the larger an advert is the more chance that someone will see it. NME also has to rely on the advertisement aspect of their magazine otherwise NME do not generate enough sales and wouldn’t run effectively as a business.

So overall the media pack for NME is designed to help the target audience, editors of NME and advertising firms come to an overall conclusion about NME.